Martinsburg daily gazette. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1887-1887, 1887-07-04
/ MONDAY, JULY 4, 1887. |
DOWN IN THE SWAMP
4 TALK WiTfi AN OLD HIDE AND
LEATHER DEALER.

~ rsetSss - ~ 49,
LEATHER DEALER.
Varieties Of Hides Isrought to New York
City-.A Bale Of white Mud from India.
Pests OF the Trade-Russia Leather.
Imported and Home Made.
ssCorae into the hide house, said Mr.
Mel Horton, as he led the way into very
spacious receiving room for Unframed
hides down in the Swamp where the
leather men most do congregatc. Hum
dreds and thousands of hiGesswere there,
but the odors Of 4Araby tho Dlest'' were
affair Off
Nearly 100 varieties Of hides come into
this city. BY varieties mean skins from
different countr' - or localities. The man
her of curing, the form Of package, the
quality Of the grain all these are differ
emit "a good judge will tell at glance
whence the hides come. Some Of them
are SO expert that they can tell you not
only the. country which produces the
hides, but where there are several ship
ping points Oh the same river, like the
Para iii South America, they can at
glal 10 locate the point from which the
goods were shipped. Europe, Africa,
Asia, Australia, North, Central and South
America III contribute to the leather
supply Of the United States 49,
ANY time that YOU see q bale Of white
mud carted about town You may under
stand That the heather IIindoo Of eastern
India has sent over lots Of mud and a.
small amount Of leather making material
You see the hides are daubed with mix
ture pf clay and lime, called chuena1n, to
iii d bale, and the purchaser expects them
to avera.ge thirty pounds. Well, they
always do Mud is cheap out there and
the honest Hindoo is absolutely careless
of the amount used so long as the proper
average is obtained. Why, I have seen q
chunk of chuenam as big ns table in one
Of these balcs.
ssThose hides, pointing to q heap, aare
Texans They are very large, You OBJ
serve, and arc dried over asbush, a fence,
almost nnything in fact. Ten of them
will make d load as big as d ton sOf loose
hay These hides herewe call the Bogota
book, owing to their place Of origin and
the form OF package. See, the hides are
folded book like and are about the size Of
the BoydeI plates. The hides from Mon
tevideo and other South American points
are usually folded 50 that they ARE about
nine reef long tlIltk ESkttO l6cb MlkkSs - Va
can pick out the Orinoco hides, though,
4 readily. They ara Il little wider, not
quite SO long, and are full OF holes along
the border nalc fhy t,le stakes which held
them to the sandsw drying:
..Now look nt these hides. They are
genuine buffalo skins from India No,
not the American bison, but the real
buffalo Of the naturalists They make
the cheapest quality Of leather, but still
very useful Their grain, you know, is
the longest; hence their great Utility for
counters and insoles in boots and shoes.
Well, we turn out over 100, 900 Of them
annually alone, and there are others who
manufacture the leather in considerable
quantities. -
1.-THE greatest obstacle to overcome in
preparing the hides and shipping them al
most around the world to New York Is the
insects. Various methods are employed
to DESTROY or Illustrate these pestss The
chuenani method have explained to you.
It's hard to tell which IS the more OBJ
iectionable, the bugs Or the mud. The
South African hides are what we call q
dry cure. They are rendered very dry by
LONG exposure t0sthe sun before.shippin
Iri that condition they resist the attack Of
insects very we'll But the most success
fulaiietHod, and that most widely used IS
III dipping the hide Id 10 solution 1t ARSENIC
before driving. This solutioAl is both q
preseryatiye and an insecticide. Tanners
have good reason to prefer this style Of